Disney Interactive Hit With Layoffs

More than 50 employees at Disney Interactive lost their jobs today in what is being termed a restructuring within the online unit of the organization. A source close to the situation confirmed that the restructuring was completed Wednesday. Approximately 3% of the online unit of about 2,000 people were affected. Another person familiar with events said notification was given to employees today. The layoffs are occurring within the online unit at Disney Interactive only; there were no cuts at the organization’s Games group, which develops video games like the Disney Epic Mickey franchise. The online unit handles company properties like Disney.com; as well as Moms and Family properties like the recently acquired Babble, which Disney bought last November; and Spoonful.com among others. Today’s action was a necessary restructuring as part of the division’s plans to remain competitive, according to a source familiar with internal discussions. This is the second such round of layoffs at Disney Interactive in less than two years. In January 2011, the division laid off about 200 employees in what was then called “a reorganization.”

9 Comments

Again? Is there anyone left there to do the work? Maybe they think they can layoff their way to finally being profitable.

Hauser71 • on Sep 5, 2012 10:27 pm

At least the last regime understood the value of the Disney brand, these new guys are clueless yahoos that are putting $$$ way before quality. History isn’t kind at Disney under that model.

Kermit • on Sep 5, 2012 11:09 pm

They had to lay off employees because they’ve spent so much money acquiring so many companies like Playdom, Digisyn, and Club Penguin.

INterested Observer • on Sep 6, 2012 12:27 am

The last few big corporate content sites are all going to feel the pinch going in to the end of the year (except for ESPN). This would not be a good time to work for AOL.

LivingTheDream • on Sep 6, 2012 10:56 am

Having been one that was cut, the number in the article is wrong. It was closer to 150.

• on Sep 6, 2012 3:34 pm

yeah way more than 50 were laid off.

BringWaltBackFromTheGrave • on Sep 7, 2012 12:28 pm

Good job, Bob Iger. Yahoo was a successful company which was driven into the ground by idiots. Now you hired those same idiots into Disney and they are screwing up Disney too.

BreadLine • on Sep 7, 2012 2:21 pm

Disney Interactive is a company plagued with serious problems. Unable to turn a profit the company limps through multiple reorganizations every year. Executive leadership with any vision is met with such bureaucracy that achieving any lasting change is effectively impossible. With no support structure, competent leaders move on to pursue new opportunities. Those who stay remain unable to make needed changes and are typically “let go.” With the company’s vision-less leadership perpetually changing directions no real progress is ever made.

Where most companies would focus on developing a core series of products and technologies to turn a profit, Disney Interactive spends all its money acquiring other companies that are developing innovative products, and slowly smother them.

Now the company is left with a leadership structure comprised almost entirely of former Yahoo employees that appear unable to cope with the challenge of making a profit while under the crushing weight of bureaucracy and decades of bad fear-based decisions.

MiniMe • on Sep 11, 2012 3:38 pm

Disney suffers under the same “tech debt” that other large media companies are burdened with — they made enormous investments in technology platforms that became outdated before the expense could be amortized. Faced with competition from smaller more nimble companies with state of the art sharing technology, who wants to be the one to tell the big boss the bad news — that we need to start over and get these sites off these outdated platforms. The red tape mentioned is also a big issue. A company this size cannot be led by group think and consensus building, which is part of the Disney DNA. The Yahoo leadership barely had time to understand the business before reorganizing, and they still don’t get it. Acquisitions are made under a separate budget, with no plan for how sites will be run in the future. I could go on. And yes, the number affected by this layoff is more like 150.